MSNBC axes Joy Reid and other prominent anchors in major shake-up

New York, New York - The news network MSNBC is reportedly making some big changes to its lineup as its leadership aims to elevate more progressive voices.

MSNBC has been reportedly making sweeping changes to its lineup as the network's new president seeks to elevate more progressive voices.
MSNBC has been reportedly making sweeping changes to its lineup as the network's new president seeks to elevate more progressive voices.  © Collage: Arturo Holmes, Ilya S. Savenok, & Dia Dipasupil / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

According to Axios, the network's new president, Rebecca Kutler, has already made a number of programming shifts with the intent to "double down on its liberal bend instead of moving toward the center" during President Donald Trump's second term.

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who has been hosting her weekend Inside with Jen Psaki show on the network since 2023, is expected to be moved to one of the primetime hours during the week.

Anchor Alex Wagner, who has hosted her show from Tuesday to Friday at 9 PM since 2022, had her program canceled, but she will remain with the network as a correspondent.

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The biggest shake-up is the cancellation of long-time anchor Joy Reid's 7 PM show The ReidOut, which, as reported by The New York Times, will be replaced by a new show co-hosted by anchors Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez, and Michael Steele.

Reid is considered by many to be the network's most outspoken critic of Trump and one of few Black anchors. News of the cancellation comes right after her show won an NAACP Image Award over the weekend.

On Saturday, Trump shared a Truth Social post calling MSNBC "a threat to Democracy," adding there are "bad people at the top!"

The internet reacts to Joy Reid's show getting cancelled

Joy Reid speaks onstage during the 2019 Global Citizen Festival: Power The Movement in Central Park on September 28, 2019 in New York City.
Joy Reid speaks onstage during the 2019 Global Citizen Festival: Power The Movement in Central Park on September 28, 2019 in New York City.  © THEO WARGO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

There have been heavy reactions on both sides of the political aisle regarding Reid's show being axed.

MAGA Republicans have been celebrating the cancellation on social media, with many accusing Reid of "race-baiting" with her criticisms of Trump's racist rhetoric and with some arguing that she herself is instead "racist" towards white people.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones shared a post insulting Reid's looks and claiming she suffers from "Trump derangement syndrome."

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But critics on the left have argued that MSNBC has made a big mistake, with many praising Reid as a needed voice of resistance against the Trump administration.

Some also pointed at shows like Morning Joe, which faced heavy backlash back in December after co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski revealed they had a private meeting with Trump in an attempt to bury the hatchet.

In a statement to The Daily Beast, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said, "I am deeply saddened that Joy-Ann Reid, the only African American woman with her own show on MSNBC, will no longer be seen."

"As there is a daily effort to counter misinformation and disinformation, it seems counterintuitive to silence a voice who brings an often unheard perspective," Bottoms added.

Cover photo: Collage: Arturo Holmes, Ilya S. Savenok, & Dia Dipasupil / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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